This invention relates to a muzzle clamp assembly, adapted for use with a multi-barrel gun, such as a Gatling type gun.
A typical modern multi-barrel gun of the Gatling type is shown and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,849,921, issued to Harold McCall Otto on Sept. 2, 1958, and reference thereto and reading thereof is recommended. In essence, in a modern Gatling type multi-barrel gun, a plurality of parallel barrels are arranged for rotation as a cluster around a common axis, with each barrel firing in sequence, as it rotates and reaches the same (i.e., the common) predetermined position, such as "12 o'clock" (i.e., upper center).
Since such multi-barrel guns are boresighted to a common target, and further since it is frequently desirable to provide a controlled "shot-gun" effect (i.e., controlled dispersion), as distinguished from a "tight shot group" effect, such as when a gun of this type is to be used against a rapidly moving target (e.g., a hostile aircraft), a need arises for apparatus to be used in combination with the multi-barrel gun to attain the desired controlled dispersion of a burst of shots from such a gun. An apparatus of this type is shown and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,714, issued to Perrin et al. on Aug. 5, 1975, and reference thereto and reading thereof is recommended.
We have invented a muzzle clamp assembly which performs the same function as the Perrin et al. apparatus. However, my inventive assembly is far more simple; and, accordingly, is greatly more economical to manufacture.
Therefore, we have significantly advanced the state-of-the-art. We have done so by keeping in mind the well-known facts that, although the barrels of the multi-barrel gun are parallel to each other and have a common axis and are boresighted to a common target, the muzzle of each of the barrels in deflectable, within limits.